Overhead trolley.



PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904.

J. G. JOHNSTON.

OVERHEAD TROLLEY.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 9. 1901.

2 SHEETS-$11331 1.

N0 MODEL.

No. 775,627. PATENTED NOV. 22, 1904.

' J. G. JOHNSTON.

OVERHEAD TROLLEY.

APPLICATION FILED EEPT. 9, 1904. no MODEL. 2 sums-sum 2.

Z'I g. 5'

wilt-114".

Patented November 22, 1904.

UNiTEn ST TE P TENT Orricn.

JOSEPH Gr. JOHNSTON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN. ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN OAR &FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

OVERHEAD TROLLEY.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 775,627, dated November22, 1904. Application filed September 9, 1904. Serial No. 223,867. (Nomodel.)

To all] 1072,0712, it may concern:

Be it known that I, J'osnrn G. JOHNSTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, Michigan, have invented a certain new andusefulImprovement in Overhead Trolleys, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the ac companying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an overhead-trolley systemconstructed in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an end view, thetrolley being removed. Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail sectional viewof anintermediately-arranged switch. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the trolleysystem. Fig. 5 is an enlarged View of the ends ofthe tracks and thetrolley-elevating device. Fig. 6 is a sectional view through the tracks,the trolley and its elevator being illustrated in end elevation. Fig. 7is an enlarged view of the ends of the tracks, the trolley, and theelevator, showing the position of the trolley as it is about to receiveits forward impetus fromthe elevator; and Fig. 8 is a cross-sectionalview through the stem of the elevator and showing a top plan view of thereceiving end of the upper track and the trolley.

This invention relates to overhead trolleys in which a conveyer isemployed for moving objects from a determined point to some distantpoint, which conveyer is mainly actuated by gravity.

The invention is particularly applicable to use in molding plants inconnection with molding-machines, where it is necessary to move thecasting or castings into an annealing-pit after it has sufiicientlysolidified in the flask.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide an inexpensive,durable, and eificient means for conveying articles from place to placeby a conveyer which will be caused to gravitate from one end of thetrack to the other.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for initiallystarting the conveyer or trolley from one end of a track and forpermitting the automatic return of the trolley after the article hasbeen deposited at the properly designated place.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby thetrolley may be'stopped at a determined point on either of two trackswhich are employed in connection with this device.

Another object of the invention is to provide means whereby a pluralityof trolleys may be manipulated 'on the system without interfering witheach other. Other objects and advantages as well as the novel details ofconstruction of this invention will be specifically describedhereinafter, it being understood that changes in form, proportion, andminor details of construction may be resorted to without departing fromthe spirit or sacrificing any of the. advantages thereof.

In carrying out the preferred embodiment of my invention as illustratedin the drawings I find it convenient to utilize anchor-beams 1 l of Iconstruction, which may be supported by suitable means near the roof ofthe structure in which the system is to be installed. Depending fromthese-anchor-beams are spaced hangers 2, which support adownwardly-inclined track 3, the highest point of the track beingadjacent to the point from which the casting is to be conveyed. Thehangers for the track 3 are secured to one of the anchorbeams 1, whilethe oppositely-inclined track 4 is supported from the adjacent beam bythe hangers 5. The tracks 3 and 4 are preferably coextensive with eachother. The track 4, being the return-track, is inclined from a pointadjacent to the discharge end of the track 3 toward the receiving end ofthe track 3, at which point it terminates. Each of these tracks 3 and4=is provided. with a complementary rail, (designated by thereference-numerals 3 and 4, respectively.) Each rail 3 and 4 is rigidwith its complementary rail and is connected thereto bymeans of riv etsor bolts 6 and 7, around which sleeves 8 and 9 are placed, so as tospace the complementary rails away from the rails 3 and 4.

1O designates a switch whichis pivotally secured to a bracket-hanger 11,supported by the beams 1 1. The free end of this switch is provided withan antifriction-roller 12, which moves over the flange 13 of thesupportingbracket 14, also carried by the beams l 1. The lower bracketof this switch is formed of two rails 15 and 16, spaced apart, as arethe rails on the tracks 3 and 4, so that the switch, which has a lateralswinging movement, may be positioned so that the trolley-rail 16 may bealined with the trolley-rails of either of the tracks 3 and 4. From thepivoted end of the switch 10 leads a single rail 17, which extends to asuitable point to which the trolley is to travel, usually theannealing-pits in the casting plant. As a part of this system, I preferto employ an elevator or hoisting device for the trolley, which isclearly illustrated in Figs. 1, 5, 6, and 7. This elevator or hoistingdevice is illustrated as comprising a cylinder 18, in which is a pistoncarrying a depending stem 19, having a hooked end 20, capable of beingmoved adjacent to either of the tracks 3 or 4. Pivotally secured uponthe hook 20 is a trigger 21 in the form of a bell-crank lever, one armof the lever being adapted to contact with an abutment 22 on either orboth of the beams 1 1, the other arm of the lever being adapted tocontact with the frame 23 of the trolley from which the con,

veyer 24 depends.

In actual practice the switch 10 will be actuated or moved so that itstrolley-rail will initially aline with the trolley-rail of the track 3.Suppose now it is desired to convey a casting from a suitable point forexample, from a point adjacent to the fiaskthe casting will be engagedby the conveyer 24, and by suitable means (not shown) fluid-pressurewill be admitted into the cylinder 18, so that the elevator or hoistwill be actuated to raise the hook 20 until the trolley is adjacent tothe receiving end of the track 3, as illustrated in Fig. 7. As the hookrises, the trigger 21 will strike against the abutment 22, causing thelower arm of the trigger to force the trolley away from the hook ontothe track 3. This movement of the trigger will cause an impetus to begiven to the trolley, and the angle of inclination of the track 3 willcause the trolley to travel from the point adjacent to the hoist towardthe discharge end of said track 3. The momentum obtained by the trolleydue to its gravitation down the track 3' will cause it to pass over theswitch onto the track 17, where an operator will be stationed to conveythe trolley to the proper point to release the casting. In returning thetrolley it will be moved on the track 17 toward the hoist or elevatorover the switch 10, which may be swung so that the trolley-rail thereonwill aline with the trolley-rail on the track 41. As soon as the trolleymoves onto the track 4 the angle of inclination of the track will causethe trolley to gravitate toward the hoist, and if the hook is in properposition the trolley may enter, so as to be in a position to receiveanother casting and be transferred to the track 3.

At the discharge ends of the respective tracks 3 and 4: arespring-pressed gates 25 and 26, which are pivoted beneath the respectivetracks and normally lie in the path of travel of the trolley. The reasonfor this is to prevent accidents or the jumping of the trolley from thetrack in the event that either the switch or elevator-hook are not inreceiving position when the trolley moves down either of the tracks.Thus it will be seen that when the trolley moves down the track 3 itwill be stopped adjacent to the end of the track by the gate 25, andbefore it can move onto the,

switch the gate must be opened or swung out Having thus described theinvention, what is claimed as new, and desired to be secured by LettersPatent, is

1. An overhead track comprising a plurality of sections, each sectionhaving spaced parallel rails, one rail in each section being a connectedrail and the othera trolley-rail, a trolley-rail spaced from thefirst-named rails and adapted to receive the trolley from any one of thefirst-named rails, and a swinging trans fer-switch, one end of which isin alinement with the last-named rail, and the other end having movementinto and out of alinement with any one of the first-named rails;substantially as described.

2. An overhead track comprising a plurality of sections, each sectionhaving spaced parallel rails, one rail in each section being a connected rail and the other a trolley-rail, a trolley-rail spaced from thefirst-named rails and adapted to receive the trolley from any one of thelast-named rail, the other end of the switch having movement into andout of alinement with the first-named rails, a trolley to travel on therails, and a trolley-hoist adapted to receive the trolley from one ofthe rails and transfer it to another rail; substantially as described.

ii:- In an overhead trolley, the combination with two inclined railshaving alining ends in difierent horizontal planes, a hoist adjacent theends of the rails to receive the trolley from one rail and transfer itto the other rail, a trigger for forcing the trolley from the hoist, andan abutment against which the trigger strikes when the trolley is inposition to be transferred to one of the rails; substantially asdescribed.

5. In an overhead trolley, the combination with two rails, one of whichis a return-rail, a rail adapted to receive the trolley from one of thefirst-named rails, a flanged bracket, a swinging switch having its pivotadjacent to the last-named rail, a roller on the opposite end of theswitch and movable across the face of the flange of the bracket to alinethe switch with either of the first-named rails, and a trolley-hoist atthe opposite ends of the firstnamed rails; substantially as described.

6. In an overhead trolley, the combination with two oppositely-inclinedtrolley-rails, a gate near one end of one of the rails, a gate near theopposite end of the other rail, a trolley-hoist contiguous to the endsof both of the rails, a third rail common to both of the firstnamedrails, and a switch between the firstnamed rails and the third rail, oneend of which is adapted to aline with either of the first-named rails;substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature, in the presence oftwo witnesses, this 6th day of September, 1904:.

JOSEPH G. JOHNSTON. Witnesses: I ARTHUR F. AMESLEY,

DAVID W. HAWKSWORTH.

